''Helping Grandma'' is a 1931 ''

Our Gang ''Our Gang'' (also known as ''The Little Rascals'' or ''Hal Roach's Rascals'') is an American series of comedy short films chronicling a group of poor neighborhood children and their adventures. Created by film producer Hal Roach, who also pr ...

'' short

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Robert F. McGowan Robert Francis McGowan (July 11, 1882 – January 27, 1955) was an American film director and producer, best known as the senior director of the ''Our Gang'' short subjects film series from 1922 until 1933. Career Before moving to Los Angeles, ...

. It was the 103rd ''Our Gang'' short to be released.

Plot

An elderly woman, Mrs. Margaret Mack, owns a small grocery store, and the gang helps her to run it by waiting on customers, delivering groceries and keeping her company. They call her Grandma, although she is not any one kid's grandmother. She loves the gang, and the gang loves her. A chain store company wants to buy her store for more than market value, while a swindler also wants to buy it for next to nothing. The gang thinks both parties want to practically steal the store from her. The swindler stops in and tries talking Grandma into selling her store immediately for $1,500. She balks at the low price, then goes downtown to run some errands, leaving the gang in charge. Among her instructions is to tell anyone who calls on the telephone to call back later. Chain store officials stop by, and Jackie, Farina and Chubby try deterring them from buying the store, telling them, among other things, "You couldn't sell many chains in this town anyhow," and, "Even the banks close on Saturday afternoon". The chain store officials are amused by the kids and leave some papers for Mrs. Mack to study. After they leave, the swindler returns, sees it is a $3,500 contract of sale, and swipes it. Meanwhile, Stymie is supposed to get ten cents worth of "it", but can't remember what "it" is. He has a note naming it, but neither he nor Wheezer can read the note, so Wheezer asks Stymie if he would remember it if he saw it. Stymie says no, but that he might remember it if he tasted it. So, Wheezer and the other kids have Stymie sample a potato, Peet Bros., soap, shoe polish, gasoline, moth balls, glue, Limburger cheese, and, finally, fish-meal fertilizer, to which Stymie declares, "Yep, that's it". Dorothy is doling out candy to Wheezer when the phone rings. It is the chain store representatives, who want to increase their offer. Wheezer picks up the receiver, but does not speak to the representatives because he is distracted by Dorothy. Thinking she is not giving him enough candy (and, therefore, not hearing their offer), Wheezer shouts at Dorothy, "T'aint enough!", then into the phone, "Call later!". The chain store reps think that "T'aint enough" was meant for them, so they decide they will call back. This gag takes place repeatedly through the scene, with the chain store guys increasing their price to, finally, a "flat offer of $5,000.00". Grandma returns with the swindler, who is in a rush to have her sign away her store. After several interruptions by the children, she signs the paper. Assuming she has signed the store away, she informs the kids. The man refers to the kids as hoodlums and tells them they must leave, to which Grandma objects. The chain store officials arrive, and the swindler states that the store now belongs to him. He shows them the paper she signed, but it is blank. The real contract of sale was not signed, so the swindler accuses Grandma of tricking him. The officials repeat their phone bid, saying they will give Grandma $1,500 more than the original price agreed on. Grandma realizes that the swindler had imitated her over the phone, so she punches the guy across the room. When he threatens Grandma, Wheezer hits him on the head with a hammer.

Cast

The Gang

* Matthew Beard as Stymie ('Tumble-Weed' in script) *

Norman Chaney Norman Myers Chaney (October 18, 1914 – May 29, 1936) was an American child actor, notable for appearing in 19 ''Our Gang'' comedies as "Chubby" from 1929 to 1931. Early life and career Chaney was born on October 18, 1914 (though Richard ...

as Chubby *

Jackie Cooper John Cooper Jr. (September 15, 1922 – May 3, 2011) was an American actor and director. He began his career performing in film as a child, and successfully transitioned to adult roles and directing in both film and television. At age nine, h ...

as Jackie *

Dorothy DeBorba Dorothy Adele DeBorba (March 28, 1925 – June 2, 2010) was an American Child actor, child actress of Portuguese people, Portuguese descent who was a regular in the ''Our Gang'' series of short subjects as the leading lady from 1930 to 1933. E ...

as Dorothy *

Allen Hoskins Allen Clayton Hoskins (August 9, 1920 – July 26, 1980) was an American child actor, who portrayed the character of Farina in 105 ''Our Gang'' short films from 1922 to 1931. Acting career 1920–1936 ''Our Gang'' Stardom Born in Bosto ...

as Farina *

Bobby Hutchins Robert E. Hutchins (March 29, 1925 – May 17, 1945) was an American child actor who was a regular in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1927 to 1933. A native of Tacoma, Washington, he was given the nickname of Wheezer after running ar ...

as Wheezer *

Mary Ann Jackson Mary Ann Jackson (January 14, 1923 – December 17, 2003) was an American child actress who appeared in the ''Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1928 to 1931. She was born and died in Los Angeles, California. Career Mary Ann Jackson's f ...

as Mary Ann *

Shirley Jean Rickert Shirley Jean Rickert (March 25, 1926 – February 6, 2009) was an American child actress who was briefly the "blonde girl" for the ''Our Gang'' series in 1931, during the Hal Roach early talkie period. Career At 18 months of age, Rickert ...

as Shirley *

Donald Haines Donald Haines (May 9, 1919 – February 20, 1943) was an American child actor who had recurring appearances in the '' Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1930 to 1933. He appeared in '' Our Gang'' during the early sound days along with ...

as Donald *

Clifton Young Robert Howard Young (September 15, 1917 – September 10, 1951) professionally known as Clifton Young, was an American film actor. Early years Young was the son of Edward A. and Eva (Clifton) Young. His father started him in vaudeville ...

as Robert 'Bonedust'

Additional cast

Oscar Apfel Oscar C. Apfel (January 17, 1878 – March 21, 1938) was an American film actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He appeared in more than 160 films between 1913 and 1939, and also directed 94 films between 1911 and 1927. Biography Ap ...

as Mr. Pennypacker * William Gillespie as Billy, second chain store official *

Dell Henderson George Adelbert "Dell" Henderson (July 5, 1877 – December 2, 1956) was a Canadian-American actor, film director, director, and writer. He began his long and prolific film career in the early days of silent film. Biography Born in the southwest ...

as First chain store official *

Margaret Mann Margaret Mann (4 April 1868 – 4 February 1941, in Los Angeles, California), was a Scottish-American actress. Early years Mann was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, one of 10 children in her family. The family moved to South Africa when she was 12 ...

as Mrs. Margaret 'Grandma' Mack * Bobby Mallon as Undetermined role

Note

This episode was heavily edited for ''The Little Rascals'' television syndicated prints, beginning in 1971. Scenes with Stymie tasting the store items were all cut, due to perceptions of racism toward African-Americans. Most, but not all, of the deleted scenes were reinstated for the TV prints aired on

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

2001-2003, and on

MeTV MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television progra ...

in 2016.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0021951 1931 films 1931 comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Robert F. McGowan Hal Roach Studios short films Our Gang films 1931 short films 1930s American films Films scored by Marvin Hatley Films scored by Leroy Shield